The Library of Congress, Contracts and Logistics Service, 1701 Brightseat Road, Landover, MD 20785

A -- EVALUATION AND TESTING OF BOOK DEACIDIFICATION PROCESS SOL RFI95-1 POC Kaye Klinker, Contracting Officer, 202-707-8608. The Library of Congress, to encourage and facilitate the development of deacidification technology, will provide testing and evaluation opportunities as well as technical information to interested parties who wish to submit their deacidification technology for Library evaluation. The Library will enter into cost sharing arrangements with parties submitting their technology. For each party interested in participating in this three step, two (2) year program, the Library will evaluate book deacidification technology and provide an assessment of progress toward meeting the Library's deacidification requirements as contained in its Request for Proposals (RFP90-21) dated 09/13/90 (copies available from the CO upon request). The focus is on the preservation requirements (extension of life of book paper, complete deacidification, alkaline reserve), but additional information will be gathered on each party's potential for mass scale processing, process related damages, and other challenges to the successful use of the technology for preserving Library collections. Parties that request the Library's evaluation of their process must be able to demonstrate in Step 1 that they are potentially able to provide mass deacidification services by providing with their request to the Library and at their expense, the following information and samples: -The parties name(s), address(es), principal(s), deacidification process inventor(s), and patents held or pending related to the offered process; -Description of the deacidification chemistry, process, and existing and planned facilities owned or to be owned by the parties, as well as information on any toxicological or environmental impact of the process and/or any of the bi-products, and available data concerning the occupational safety of the process operation; -Available data on the effectiveness of the process in extending the life of book papers, providing complete deacidification, and depositing adequate, uniform, permanent alkaline reserve; -Ten Library of Congress test books that have been processed by the technology, within thirty days of the request; -A list of customers or others that are using or evaluating the deacidification services. After all of the above information is received and a determination is made that the party demonstrates potential for providing mass deacidification technology, the Library will proceed to Step 2 as follows: -Meet with the principals to negotiate a contract and time schedule for the evaluation; -Establish a team of technical specialists to assist in the evaluation of the process; -Evaluate all the materials, data, and other information submitted and any additional information that may be requested; -Conduct a site visit at a mutually agreed time to assess the existing deacidification plant, facilities, process, and operations. Provide a small sample of up to 250 books to be deacidified by the proposed technology. The expense of the deacidification of the sample books shall be borne by the offeror and/or the Library, at a cost determined in the contract; -Perform laboratory analyses on processed books from the sample of books for alkaline reserve, completeness of deacidification, and extension of life of the paper as measured by accelerated aging, as well as scanning electron microscopy and any other tests deemed by the Library to be useful; -Evaluate the samples of books for any process-related damage; -Document all evaluations, analysis, and findings in a written report to be made available to the preservation community for their use in making their preservation decisions; -Meet with each party to review the findings in the report and receive their comments. Those parties that successfully demonstrate that they have the potential to meet the Library's mass deacidification requirements may request a more detailed evaluation of their process in Step 3. The evaluation may be consistent with that described in the Library's RFP90-21, and it may include initiatives aimed at process optimization and demonstration of limited production capabilities while consistently meeting the Library's technical requirements. Parties interested in participating in this program must provide the information and samples no later than 12 months from the date of this notice to be considered under the two (2) year open season. When responding to this notice please cite RFI95-1. (0041)

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